Growing Old Together
by iloveromance
Summary: When Adaline makes a remarkable discovery, she can't wait to share it with the people she loves most.


She stood in front of the mirror, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her hair, a golden blond, now held a thin strand of white. A sign…. After all of this time…

"Adaline, are you ready?" Ellis called from the living room.

"Um, yes… I'll be right there." She replied, her voice trembling. She took one last glance in the mirror and then turned out the light. As soon as she entered the living room, Fleming and Ellis sighed.

"Oh Mom…" Fleming sighed. The smile on Fleming's old, wrinkled face was the most beautiful thing that Adaline had ever seen. Fleming looked much older than Adeline; old enough, perhaps, to be her grandmother. But Adaline would soon follow in her daughter's footsteps. And that made her happier than she'd ever dreamed.

"You look beautiful." Fleming continued.

But Ellis shook his head. "No, she doesn't."

Both Adaline and Fleming turned their heads in disbelief. "Ellis!"

He moved closer and smiled, cupping Adaline's cheek in the palm of his hand. And then his eyes moved down the length of her body, taking in the sight of her made her a bit self-conscious and she wondered if she should have worn a different dress. But then he smiled.

"Beautiful doesn't begin to describe you, Adaline. You're absolutely stunning."

Adaline's heart melted. Ellis always knew the right thing to say. She moved to kiss him but he stopped her by pressing his fingers against her lips. "Ellis…"

"We'll save that for the party, all right?"

"But-."

He smiled and touched his forehead to hers. "I promise that I'll make it up to you."

"Deal." She whispered as he put his arm around her waist and escorted her out of the apartment.

"This is nice." Ellis said as they moved slowly to the music.

Adaline sighed and rested her head against his chest. "Mmmm… Can we just stay like this forever?"

"That's my plan." He replied. "And while I'll soon be a wrinkled, frail old man, you will be…"

Unexpectedly, Adaline began to cry.

Ellis stopped dancing and gently turned his face toward him. ""Hon? Addy? Hey, what's wrong? I was just kidding when I said that about the wrinkles. I-."

"It's not that." Adaline cried. "It's just-."

"What, hon?"

She took his hand and led him off of the dance floor to a table in the corner. They sat down and she took his hand.

"Addy, what's wrong?"

"Earlier when I was getting ready for the party…" She began slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I was brushing my hair and I found this…"

"What?"

She ran her fingers through her golden strands of hair and separated them as best as she could. "Look…" She whispered.

He stared at her intently, confusion on his brow. "I'm sorry, hon. I don't…."

"Look closer…"

He moved his face toward hers, peering intently at her strands of hair. "All I see is your beautiful…"

"It's gray." She said, her voice trembling. "A-A gray hair."

He froze, staring at her in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Ellis, do you have any idea what this means?"

"I think I'm beginning to. My God, is this real?"

She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Yes…"

Overcome with emotion he swept her into his arms and twirled her around, lifting her high heeled feet from the ground. And then when he sat her back down, they kissed passionately, neither of them caring who saw them.

It was, after all, New Year's Eve, which meant that another year had come and gone. But this year would be different. She knew that now.

She took his hands in hers. "I love you so much, Ellis. And I can't wait to grow old with you."

He laughed and kissed her again. "And I can't wait to grow old with you. I never thought that getting older would be so wonderful."

Adaline picked up her champagne glass and smiled. "I propose a toast."

He reached for a glass and held it against hers. "All right. What shall we toast to?"

"To growing old. And timeless love." Adaline answered.

He smiled and clinked his glass against hers. "And we'll still be this happy when we're old and grey."

Adaline wrapped her arms around his neck. "Promise?"

"No… actually we'll be happier." Ellis replied. "Because it took us a lifetime to get here and I want to cherish every moment. Let's go and share this happy news with Fleming, all right?"

Adaline kissed him softly. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

'THE END


End file.
